Senior Manager Special Events

The location for this position is virtual/remote

With more than 600 Sales professionals in offices around the world, our Global Sales Team ensures our owners and operators receive the combined benefits of scale, access, competence, and experience. Our Sales teams are fully engaged in providing a differentiated selling platform for our portfolio of brands. We focus on being the most global, integrated, and relevant salesforce in the industry, relentlessly driven to grow market share. Our global sales team is consistently recognized as a top-selling and customer-service-focused organization throughout the industry. We conduct business in 42 languages serving 25,000 customers in 119 countries from offices located around the globe. This ensures that the team truly understands the unique needs and opportunities of regions worldwide, right down to the local level.

What will I be doing?

As a Special Events Senior Manager, you are responsible for developing the strategy and leading the project management and planning for internal Hilton conferences. This position will work with Executive partners and business collaborators to understand conference objectives, requirements, fund allocation, and timelines in order to plan the scope of the conference and build the event strategy.

You will lead all conference elements, including defining the conference objectives and narrative, and cross-collaborate with others to ensure all workstreams are accurately defined and implemented. The Senior Manager will also suggest initiatives to reach the goals of the event for the business owners’ approval, and if approved will lead the planning and activation of those initiatives!

The types of events include: Brand, Owner, Commercial, and Leadership Conferences. These events include large conferences of up to 10,000 people, Vendor Showcases/Trade Shows with multiple General Sessions, learning tracks, breakout sessions, off-site events, and meal functions. These events can include global conferences as well as Americas based conferences.

More specifically, you will:

Develop the conference project plan and lead calls with Special Events Managers and other core team members to ensure conference tasks are documented and completed on time
Develop agendas, presentation decks via PowerPoint, and lead meetings with executives
Lead management and tracking of tasks using established project management software (Monday.com)
Prioritize and delegate work to vendors and project team members accordingly, while ensuring optimal allocation of resources
Lead all event logistics with planning team, including scheduling the dates, housing (room blocks), breakouts, booths/tradeshows, shipping/receiving, staffing, supplies, transportation, sponsorships, Audio Visual, amenities, VIP/Executive logistics, speakers, event technology and others as assigned
Lead RFP and RFQ processes with agencies, vendors, event venues, and hotels
Lead the sourcing and contracting of hotel, convention center, DMC, agency partner, transportation, entertainment, speakers, booth vendors, and any other vendor partners as needed. Work with Hilton Supply Management and Hilton legal teams to implement
Lead planning calls with internal Hilton teams and agency partners, and ensure timely follow-up with next steps and notes
Plan for feedback mechanisms and implement more efficient processes
Assess and communicate event/meeting potential risks to address as needed, providing potential solutions as applicable.
Lead events from conception to planning and execution. This includes participating in the tactical planning process for meetings and events.
Connect with the conference team and finance lead to run the event funding, track and report expenditures, pay invoices, and reconcile event billing.
Align with Hilton Travel and Entertainment (T&E) policy (or Strategic Meetings Management Programs – SMMP policy) for event compliance, including legal, branding, procurement, and financial.
Formulate and distribute regular reports to update partners on all event elements, such as attendee registrations, work completed, work in progress, and upcoming timelines.
Guide direction of event creative and branding, maintain relationships and approvals with vendors and internal members to confirm consistent messaging, branding, and identity across workstreams.
Plan site visits including creating visit/meeting agendas, coordinate with hotels and agencies.
Travel for site selections, pre-planning meetings and execution of final event.
Work with Conference Coordinator to maintain organized and accurate storage of all documents and files.
Manage coordinator and event contractor(s) or interns as assigned by Director.

What are we looking for?

We believe the success in this role will demonstrate itself through the following attributes and skills:

Ability to think quickly and accurately during all phases of the planning process and be well-versed in all aspects of meeting and event planning.
Communicate effectively with Executives, partners, internal team members, company representatives, contracted event planners, meeting participants, and vendors
Experience leading large-scale conferences, including Trade Show/Supplier Showcase components, multiple General Sessions, meal functions, Breakout Sessions, and technology components.
Experience working directly with and presenting to executives (“C-Suite”).
Organized and meets timelines with attention to detail and process as well as possesses planning skills
Solve problems through analytical skills optimally and creatively while maintaining a high level of flexibility, professionalism, and integrity
Ability to learn new skills in different event/meetings-related areas

To fulfill this role successfully, you should demonstrate the following minimum qualifications:

Seven (7) years of event experience (exclusive of hotel event management experience), specifically in strategy, leading, planning and implementing large scale conferences for over 1,000 attendees
Experience in directly managing/leading team members or partners
Ability to exhibit strong PowerPoint presentation development
Strong proficiency in MS Excel and Teams
Travel – up to 50% of the time
Ability to lift and move heavy boxes during tradeshows and events as well as stand for long periods of time

It would be useful in this position for you to demonstrate the following capabilities and distinctions:

BA/BS Bachelor’s Degree
Previous experience working for an events production agency
Project Management tools like Monday.com

What is it like working for Hilton?

The future of hospitality is bright at Hilton (https://www.hilton.com/en/): a leading global hospitality company with a diverse portfolio of world-class brands (https://jobs.hilton.com/us/en/brands) . Dedicated to filling the earth with the light and warmth of hospitality, we have welcomed more than 3 billion guests in our more than 100-year history. Hilton is proud to have an award-winning workplace culture, and we are consistently named among one of the World’s Best Workplaces.

We support the mental and physical wellbeing of all Team Members, so they can Thrive, thanks to innovative programs and benefits (https://jobs.hilton.com/us/en/benefits) such as workplace flexibility, career growth and development, and our Go Hilton travel discount program. Hilton prioritizes understanding and integrating our Team Members’ unique perspectives and voices—along with those of our Guests, Owners, Suppliers, and Partners—to cultivate a diverse and inclusive (https://jobs.hilton.com/us/en/diversity-home2) environment for all. Check out the Hilton Careers blog (https://jobs.hilton.com/us/en/blog) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/hiltoncareers/) to learn more about what it’s like to be on Team Hilton!

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We will ensure that qualified individuals with protected disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions of their role, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.

Hilton offers its eligible team members a comprehensive benefits package including medical and prescription drug coverage, dental coverage, vision coverage, life insurance, short-and long-term disability insurance, access to our employee stock purchase plan (ESPP) where you can purchase Hilton shares at a 15 percent discount, a 401(k) savings plan, 20 days of paid time off accruing over your first year of employment and increasing up to 25 days after completing one year of full employment, up to 12 weeks of paid leave for birth parents and 4 weeks for non-birth parents, 10 paid holidays and 2 floating holidays throughout the year, up to 5 bereavement days, flexible spending accounts, a health savings account, an employee assistance program, access to a care coordination program (“Wellthy”), a legal services program, an educational assistance program, adoption assistance, a backup childcare program, pre-tax commuter benefit and our travel discount. The annual salary range for this role is $75,000-$110,000 and is determined based on applicable and specialized experience and location.Subject to plan terms and conditions, you will be eligible to participate in the Hilton Annual Incentive (Bonus) Plan, consistent with other team members at the same level and/or position within the Company.#LI-REMOTE

Job: Sales and Marketing

Title: Senior Manager Special Events

Location: null

Requisition ID: COR013W1

EOE/AA/Disabled/Veterans